


A Stranger Came

by Alliance (Xazz)



Series: Cypress Hall [3]
Category: Flight Rising
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 05:47:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14970386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazz/pseuds/Alliance





	A Stranger Came

[Johanna](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=dragon&id=332919&did=172145) was tired. She came home, dropped her things in her room, and face planted onto her bed with a tired groan. Her body ached. She was sweaty and stank of sweat, blood, ichor, and swamp. Thinking that was enough to make her pick herself up off her bed with a tired groan so she didn’t stink up her bed. She was taking off her armor thinking about that sack of gold she’d earned and what it was probably going to be used for immediately. She’d been saving up to put a call to some druids in the Labyrinth to come to expand the Tree some more so the girls didn’t have to share a room and she could make the entire thing a bit bigger with more like rooms and less like hollows.

She was so focused on her thoughts of knowing her gold was going to evaporate that she missed when three sets of curious eyes peered around the screen that sectioned off Johanna’s space from the other parts of the Tree. She muttered to herself about also needing to take[ Lianna](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=dragon&id=332919&did=35564542) hunting so they’d have enough insects to eat. She was glad [Layali](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&tab=dragon&id=332919&did=35135530) ate anything and the rest of them would eat insects. There was no shortage of insects in the swamp, it was just a matter of getting to them. [Rahab](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=35135531) fended for himself mostly but the girls had developed a taste for fried tarantula and popped crickets.

“Surprise!” Layali yelled and Johanna found her legs assaulted by the two young girls. She looked down at them and was met by a pair of smiling faces. She and Lianna were hitting on her feet, holding onto her calf.

“Oh nooo,” Johanna said dramatically, “I can’t move, I’m stuck. What ever am I to do?” The girls giggled. She pretended to lift her feet and couldn’t which just made the girls giggle more and wiggle around a little. Then with an over the top groan Johanna lifted her leg Lianna was hanging onto and shook it a little. “Oh, what’s this? There seems to be a little girl attached to my legs?” More giggling.

“You’re back,” Layali said brightly.

“Yes, I am,” Johanna leaned down and gently pried Lianna off of her first and then Layali. Layali grabbed her back and Johanna was forced to pick her up. She couldn’t do that with Lianna anymore. Layali was a few years older than her but Lianna had already outpaced her in maturity and physical development. Lianna was at the edge of what Johanna could easily pick up but Layali was still small enough to scoop up. Johanna couldn’t help but think she’d be sad when the day came she could no longer hold her little Layali like this.

“Did you find anything neat?” Layali asked.

“No,” Johanna sighed a little. Anything she found she’d sold off to the nearest clan for more gold. She’d only kept what she could carry and that hadn’t been much.

“There’s someone here,” Layali said as Johanna was taking her out of her sectioned off area, Lianna trailing behind.

“There is?” Johanna asked and set Layali down in her own room, by the bed. Layali nodded. “How do you know that?” she asked.

“Rahab said so,” she pointed and like he was waiting for it the strange Fae showed himself. He crawled along the floor in a disconcerting way and climbed up Layali’s body. If Johanna didn’t know Rahab was both a Fae and Layali’s ‘brother’ she would have snatched the strange creature right off of her and thrown it out into the spring. Watching Rahab crawl along the floor or up and around Layali was always a bit uncomfortable to watch. “He said he saw someone out in the eastern island, the big one.” Rahab had curled around Layali’s neck by now, half hidden by her black hair.

“Hmmm. Did he see who?”

“A Wildclaw,” Layali said. “He was scared so didn’t get too close, but they were definitely a Wildclaw.”

“What did they look like?”

Rahab practically put his head in Layali’s ear to whisper to her. “Dark base, pale bright green markings like a skink.”

“And where did he see them?”

Rahab again whispered directly into Layali’s ear. “A bit inland. He didn’t stay for too long. He came home right after he saw them. He wanted you to say they were safe before he went back out there to hunt.”

“Hmm. Very well,” she did her best not to sigh. She went back to her area and pulled on some clothes from yesterday. Not clean but not filthy or foul like today’s clothes. “You three stay here,” she told the three children.

“Yes, Johanna,” Lianna said and put her hand on Layali’s shoulder.

Johanna nodded at them and left the Tree. She crawled out of the hole with a groan. She really just had wanted to soak in the spring and before making the girls something to eat and passing out for the night. But now she had to go investigate this strange dragon. She stretched a bit before taking off. It took no time at all to cross the spring and the swamp to the large island to the east of the Tree. “Who goes there?” she called out with a bit of Wind magic behind her to make sure they heard. “You’re in my territory. Show yourself!”

She waited and she honestly didn’t expect anything to come of it and she’d have to scour the island. So when a young Wildclaw stepped out from the clinging woods she was surprised but didn’t allow it to show on her face. “I didn’t mean to encroach,” they said.

Johanna looked them over. Dark hide with almost searing bright markings almost like the veining of a leaf. She hadn’t missed the way the branches had seemed to pull away from him to let him out of the woods. A druid. A powerful druid. From a sect she knew. They were well known in the Labyrinth and the Plateau before she’d left both of those places. “I believe you, druid,” she said. “But you gave my children a fright.”

He was surprised she knew he was a druid. “I apologize. I was just…” he petered off.

“What?”

He sighed. “Look. I’m sorry I was in your territory. I’ll be moving along.”

“What are you running from?” she asked. She wasn’t sure what made her ask that. Just age and knowledge of how young males burdened with what they thought was too much purpose spoke.

“I’m not running from anything,” he growled, his crest going back.

She folded her arms. “It’s an awfully long way away for a member of the Belspring to be for it to be nothing,” she said.

“You— know of us?” he was shocked.

“I wasn’t born yesterday, young man,” she said. “You’re of the Plateau sect and this is a long way from the Plateau to try to set up a place to live. As far from anything you could hope to have and still be surrounded with enough sunlight and plants without being in the Labyrinth. But since you’re here I doubt you want that sect to know you’re here either.”

He scowled a little. “What’s it to you?”

“Well if you have a good answer I’d let you stay,” Johanna said.

His pale green eyes widened. “You would?” he asked.

“Yes. If you do a thing for me and tell me what you’re doing here I’ll allow you to stay in my territory,” Johanna said, head raised.

He scratched his crest awkwardly. “I— don’t want to be bonded with the girl my father wanted me to be,” he admitted. “So I left.”

“You ran away from home because you didn’t love a girl? Really?” Johanna could hardly believe this. Why were the young so _foolish_.

“No!” he cried. “I do. Just not… like that,” he grimaced. “But I had to and I really didn’t want to do that to her so I left.”

“That is very noble, I suppose, but also completely stupid,” Johanna said. He narrowed his eyes at her. “What’s your name?”

“[Spayar](http://flightrising.com/main.php?p=lair&id=332919&tab=dragon&did=36112116),” he grunted, still annoyed she’d rebuked him so roughly.

“I am Johanna Goldenfeather,” she said.

“Goldenfeather?” he asked to clarify.

“Yes, that Goldenfeather.”

“You’re a long way from the Plateau too, Johanna,” he said and eyed her.

“I have my reasons.”

“Do I get to be privy?”

She gave him an amused chuckle, “Maybe one day, young Spayar,” she said. “For now, you’re free to live in my territory. I am sure I don’t have to tell you to not molest the natural resources. In the near future, I will come to ask you for that other thing you owe me to live here.”

“Very well,” he said awkwardly. “Where can I find you if I need you?”

“See that tree?” she pointed out where they could clearly see the top of the huge cypress tree. Spayar nodded. “If you need me I spend my days in that tree with my children.” He nodded. “I’m glad this was a mutually beneficial arrangement for us, Spayar. Until I see you next.”

“Goodbye,” he said, still not sure about this entire thing and especially put off guard by who she was. “This thing you want me to do, it isn’t for all that with Goldenfeather, right?”

“No. It’s for us.”

“Alright, well— thanks I guess.”

With that Johanna waved goodbye to the druid and flew back to the tree were Layali and Lianna were eagerly waiting for her to find out who and what the strange dragon Rahab had seen was. “Was it a dragon like Rahab said, Johanna?” Layali asked almost as soon as she entered the Tree.

“Yes, it was,” Johanna nodded. “They were a druid, his name is Spayar. He’s going to be living on that island now.”

“Really!?” Layali asked excitedly. “Can we go see?”

Johanna smiled sadly at the little girl, “I’m sorry Layali, you can’t,” she said. Layali’s face dropped and she remembered that she couldn’t leave the Tree.

“Oh, right,” she said, looking down.

“He’ll be coming here, though,” Johanna said helpfully. “He’s going to be making our home larger,” she motioned to the inside of the Tree.

“Really? Can I get my own room?” Lianna asked, wings puffing up excitedly.

Johanna smiled gently, “Yes, I think we can arrange that, my dear,” she said and gently tapped Lianna’s nose. Lianna giggled and beamed at her. “Now are you hungry?”

“Yes!” they cried at the same time.

“Alright, let’s have some dinner,” Johanna said allowed Layali to grab her arm as they went to the cook fire in the side of the living area where she’d make them something to eat.


End file.
